The Pursuit Desk

At LMA 2026 in New Orleans, Sandra Claudio made the case for something every BD team knows but rarely says out loud: not every RFP is worth your time — and chasing the wrong ones can actually hurt you. 🎧   Sandra is Director of BD at Ice Miller, where a team of two manages RFPs for the entire firm — responding to around 200 a year, not counting early-stage pitches. Their process is disciplined: e...

Tracy is Head of Marketing & BD at Kraft Kennedy — a firm that helps law firms navigate their most complex technology implementations. She's watched firms fall behind on technology decisions and then scramble to recover. She's also applying that same urgency to her own marketing function.   In the latest episode of The Pursuit Desk, Jason and Tracy cover how AI is changing proposal wor...

In legal marketing, most leaders inherit a department. Andrew Laver built one — and he did it with a very specific philosophy.  In the latest episode of The Pursuit Desk, ikaun's Jason Noble sits down with Andrew Laver, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, for a candid conversation about what it really takes to run marketing and BD at a growing reg...

In this episode of The Pursuit Desk , Jason Noble, Co-Founder & Chief Product Strategy Officer at ikaun, sits down with Jordan Weinstein, VP of Data & Growth at Persuit. Together, they unpack what the data reveals about winning more RFPs, why the lowest price isn’t always the deciding factor, and how strategies and speed can change outcomes. They also explore the mounting pressure on the b...

In this episode of The Pursuit Desk , Jason Noble sits down with Rick Harris, CEO of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), to explore what truly makes a winning proposal. Rick shares timeless best practices—from the importance of executive summaries and compliance matrices to building authentic client relationships—and explains why proposals should never be cookie-cutter. Th...

On this episode of The Pursuit Desk , Jason Noble chats with Carling Futvoye, Senior Proposal and Experience Manager at Stinson LLP, about what makes proposals truly stand out—and what still gets in the way. Carling shares how a thoughtful go/no-go process helps her team stay focused, how her creative writing background informs her approach to RFP responses, and why storytelling isn’t fluff—it’s w...

What do aerospace, modeling, and legal marketing have incommon? Gabriela Cervantes. In the newest episode of The Pursuit Desk , JasonNoble sits down with Gabriela, Marketing Manager at Snell & Wilmer, for a compelling conversation on career pivots, cross-industry insights, and the human side of business development. Gabriela shares her journey from aerospace and defensemanufacturing to the leg...

What if your most powerful business development strategywasn’t another pitch—but a conversation? In this new episode of The Pursuit Desk , recorded live at the 2025 LMA Annual Conference, Jason Noble sits down with Debra Filippin, Head of Marketing and Business Development for Asia Pacific at HFW, to talk about the power of listening—and how law firms can turn feedback into lasting relationships....

In legal marketing, tech is no longer just a support function—it’s the engine driving personalization, growth, and smarter strategy.  In the latest episode of The Pursuit Desk , Jason Noble sits down with Kelly Sweeney, Senior Manager of Marketing Technology, for a wide-ranging conversation on the evolution of legal martech, the rise of AI, and why clean data still rules. Kelly shares her journey...

Recorded live at the 2025 LMA Annual Conference, this episode features Jason Noble in conversation with Roy Sexton, Chief Marketing Officer of Vedder Price. Known for his charisma and candor, Roy shares why storytelling and narrative memory are the secret weapons of effective legal marketing. He reflects on his first few months at Vedder Price, how he’s building on a strong foundation to drive inn...

The legal industry has long debated the value of client panels—do they truly guarantee work, or is there a bigger game at play? In the latest episode of The Pursuit Desk , new Chief Revenue Officer, Mark Bilson , joins Jason Noble to break down the realities of legal procurement, panel arrangements, and what law firms must do to stay competitive. In this episode, Mark and Jason discuss: The 60% Su...

In this episode of The Pursuit Desk , Jason Noble sits down with Mike Mellor, CEO and Founder of 742advisors, to discuss the challenges law firms face in their pitch and proposal processes. Mike highlights how firms lose up to $450K annually due to inefficiencies, and why integrating data and proactive systems is crucial for long-term success. Tune in to learn how to navigate change, improve busin...

In an industry where innovation often faces resistance, law firm leaders are starting to recognize the undeniable impact of data-driven decision making. This week on The Pursuit Desk, we’re thrilled to welcome former Head of Commercial Management at HSBC, Richard Crabb, to explore how data and efficiency are shaping the future of law firms. In this episode, Richard and Chief of Product Strategy, J...

This podcast features Jason Noble, Founder and Chief of Product Strategy at ikaun, and Jason Kennedy, Intelligence Solutions Manager for Holland & Knight in Nashville. In this episode, they delve into Kennedy's background transitioning from the vendor side to in-house roles within law firms, particularly focusing on legal marketing. Kennedy shares insights into the evolving landscape of da...

We're live at LMA! Join Jason Noble as he sits down with Lane Powell Business Development Manager, Kirstin Rojo as they discuss the conference, marketing and BD pressure points at Lane Powell, and Kirstin answers which tasks she would like to eliminate from her workflow — for good.

When Katie Munroe first arrived from Covington & Burlington in her new role as Chief Marketing Officer for Zuckerman Spaeder, her top priority was bringing in new business as well as expanding existing business by better understanding the firm’s clients and better positioning each lawyer for success.    The challenges she faced, however, are ones with which many firms struggle including the ch...

Mark Tamminga, former partner at Gowling WLG, joins The Pursuit Desk to discuss the importance of technology and innovation in modern law firms, specifically the development of tools and processes to capture and utilize personnel expertise. Additionally, Jason and Mark discuss the importance of good user experience and interface design in software development is emphasized.

In this week’s episode of The Pursuit Desk Lee Watts, Founder and CEO of Ashby and Co. Lee Watts joins Jason Noble to discuss the importance of developing branding and identity in the legal industry. Lee is an innovator in the legal space who helps attorneys and high-achieving professionals develop strong personal brands, design brand clarity and messaging, and create a sustainable marketing strat...

In this week’s episode of The Pursuit Desk Michael Warren, VP Client Development & Intake Practice at Wilson Allen, joins Jason Noble to discuss the business and technology side of the legal industry. With years of experience in the legal industry, Michael is a notable consultant and well-known entrepreneur after starting his consulting firm, Stanton Allen, which later merged with Wilson Legal...

Jason meets with Kalisha Crawford, Director Of Marketing & Business Development at Ropers Majeski. With her experience working with firms of different sizes, they discuss how she brings big firm processes and perspectives into the mid-sized market.

In this week’s episode of The Pursuit Desk features Heather Ritchie, Chief Knowledge and Business Development Officer at Hicks Morley joins Jason Noble to discuss leveraging firm knowledge to improve operations and service delivery. Heather Ritchie has decades of experience working in the legal industry, starting with her experience practicing law. After going back to school to study information s...

In this week’s episode of The Pursuit Desk features Jonathan Oeler, Senior Manager of IT and Development at Reed Smith joins Jason Noble to discuss solution development in legal applications and how it can help your marketing and business development teams. Jon has been working in big law for 16-17 years all in development working on intranet extranet systems, legal review systems matter managemen...

In this week’s episode of The Pursuit Desk features Joshua Fireman, founder and president of Fireman & Company, joins Jason Noble to discuss the activities that result in optimizing your bd and marketing workflows. Joshua has over 20 years of experience in knowledge management in the legal space. Joshua has a background in legal with a law degree and practiced law with two of north Americas la...

We’re thrilled to welcome Shawn Hainsworth, a Senior Architect/Developer & Programmer at Cooley LLP. Shawn joins Jason Noble to discuss the technologies that are driving innovation in legal marketing. Shawn has a very impressive background, spending over 27 years in Legal IT as a business analyst, programmer, and database designer. He has designed and implemented numerous applications, includi...

This week’s episode of The Pursuit Desk features Ian Farmer, a notable “rainmaker” and sales coaching with over 30 years of experience changing salespeople’s lives one deal at a time. He focuses on helping then improve their sales pitch and sales process. Ian sits down with Jason to discuss how to build great business development leaders.